Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Productivity

lord birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the decline in UK productivity over the last three successive quarters; and of the comparative performance of other advanced economies whose productivity is increasing.

lord henley: The fall in productivity in 2019 Q1 was predominantly due to a fall in manufacturing productivity of -0.9%. Productivity in the services sector grew by 0.2% over the same period. A similar pattern was observed in 2018 Q4, with services productivity outperforming manufacturing; growing by 0.4% compared to a fall of -1.1% for the latter.In terms of international comparisons, based on OECD data, all G7 countries excluding the US (for which data are not yet available) experienced a slowdown in productivity growth in 2018. The UK's productivity growth rate of just over 0.5% in 2018, was the second highest in the G7.

Shareholders: Registration

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require beneficial share owners to be included on shareholder registers.

lord henley: The Companies Act (2006) requires companies to keep a register of members and enter the details of members in this register. In the UK, a shareholder is defined as the member on the company’s register of members. In some cases, the shareholder is also the beneficial owner of the shares. The Government has no plans to require beneficial share owners to be included on shareholder registers.

World Meteorological Organisation

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes, if any, they have advocated to the World Meteorological Organization about the changes to the organisation and funding of the hydrological work of that organisation; and what are the connections of that work with the hydrological programmes of UNESCO.

lord henley: The UK’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), with support from the UK Hydrological Adviser, was actively engaged in discussions at the World Meteorological Congress in June 2019, promoting efficiency and transparency in the intergovernmental agreements on the budget and reform of WMO. The UK remain closely involved in the hydrological work of WMO, with the UK Hydrological Adviser promoting the establishment of appropriate links between WMO and UNESCO, supported by his role as vice-chair of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme.

Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the ethnic minority pay gap in the UK.

lord henley: The Government is committed to a cohesive society where everyone   can enter and progress at work and achieve on merit, whatever their background.The Government consulted on how best to implement mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. We received over 300 detailed responses and will set out next steps in due course.The Government has also launched the Race at Work Charter which commits signatories to effective practices that support fairness at work. Over 170 employers have signed up to date.

Natural Gas: Storage

lord birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Henley on 20 February (HL13575) and on 26 June (HL16396), and following the closure of the Rough gas storage facility, what assessment they have made of whether storing an average of seven days of UK natural gas consumption is a sufficient reserve to cope with any unexpected interruption of global gas supply.

lord henley: Government has published several assessments regarding the UK’s security of gas supply. The assessments include: CEPA’s Security of Supply report (2017), the Strategic Assessment and Review by BEIS (2017) and the UK National Risk Assessment on Security of Supply (2018), as well as the annual Statutory Security of Supply Report (most recent, 2018). These assessments conclude that current and forecast levels of GB supply and storage infrastructure are sufficient to meet demand in all but the most extreme cases of supply disruption.

Electric Vehicles

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansUK regulators are implementing to ensure continuity of electricity supplies from national and local grids to supply electric cars during rush hour journeys.

lord henley: The Government is committed to making sure consumers have secure, affordable and clean energy now and in the future.The Capacity Market secures the capacity required to meet peak demand, including demand for electric vehicles, in a range of scenarios through auctions held four- and one-year ahead of delivery. Although currently in a standstill period, the Capacity Market has already procured the bulk of the electricity capacity we need up to 2022.In addition, the Government has taken powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 to mandate that charge points sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled – allowing demand for charging of electric vehicles to be shifted, where appropriate, to off-peak times.Finally, Ofgem regulates network companies to ensure that they deliver a safe, reliable network whilst investing for the future and providing value for money for consumers. This includes ensuring that networks can reliably deliver the energy that consumers need, including for charging electric vehicles.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: Private Sector

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total payment made by NHS England to private providers of mental health services.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: In the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 approximately £610 million was paid to independent sector providers of specialised mental health services commissioned by NHS England.

NHS: Drugs

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toensure that adequate warehouse space is available in order to stockpile medicines, if required, in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Government maintains that leaving the European Union with a deal is the best EU Exit outcome and has strongly expressed its opposition to leaving without a deal, in line with the position consistently expressed by Parliament. However, leaving without a deal on 31 October 2019 remains the legal default at the end of the Article 50 extension period if no withdrawal agreement is agreed. Therefore, as a responsible Government, we will continue to prepare to minimise any disruption to the supply of medicines and medical products in a ‘no deal’ scenario. The Department continues to work closely with the devolved administrations, relevant EU member states, industry trade bodies and suppliers, the National Health Service and our other main stakeholders to ensure that we are prepared for leaving the EU without a deal in October. On 26 June, we wrote to suppliers of medicines to the United Kingdom from or via the EU or European Economic Area setting out our continuing multi-layered approach to ensure the continuity of supply of all medicines and medical products in a potential no-deal exit scenario on 31 October. To ensure sufficient space to store stockpiled medicines, we agreed contracts for additional warehouse space, including ambient, refrigerated and controlled drug storage aligned to the possible 29 March EU exit date. This secured warehouse space remains available up to and beyond 31 October and should be sufficient to meet the additional needs of medicines suppliers for storage space.

Academic Health Science Networks

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government by what process, during the current development of policy options for Academic Health Science Centres (AHSC), potential new AHSCs can be considered in areas of England currently unrepresented by existing AHSCs.

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what the future relationship will be between Academic Health Science Networks, Academic Health Science Centres and Academic Research Collaborations with regard to the future applied health science ecosystem.

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the innovations arising from the current phase of Academic Health Science Centres are being made available to patients throughout the NHS.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Department-designated Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) along with the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) are all important components of the country’s health research and innovation ecosystem.The six current Department-designated AHSCs were made on the basis of an open competition, which was open to eligible National Health Service and University partnerships across England. The recommendations for designation were made to the Department by an international independent panel.The remit of the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) has recently been expanded to become the umbrella body across the United Kingdom health innovation eco-system. The AAC has been asked to consider the role of new AHSCs within the health system and to ensure that they complement the innovation landscape, rather than add further complexity to it.It is not possible to provide specific details of the scope and nature of the new designation process at this stage given that the AAC is currently actively considering this. However, it is expected that the future designation process would be open to all NHS and University partnerships across England which meet the published specification to apply, including partnerships in areas of England where there is currently no Departmental-AHSC. As with the previous AHSC designation process, any future process will be run via a full and open competition, assessed by an independent expert panel. Rigorous conflict of interest policies will also be in place throughout the process for all involved to ensure any potential conflicts are dealt with appropriately.The existing Departmental-AHSC designation will be extended until the end of March 2020 to enable a new designation process to be undertaken. The Department’s expectation is that AHSCs will play an increasingly important role in the health innovation and research landscape over the coming years.As currently, the success of any newly designated AHSCs will require close interplay and cooperation between research infrastructure, including NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) and the NIHR ARCs, and with the AHSNs and wider innovation landscape.As part of annual monitoring of the existing Department-designated AHSCs, examples of innovations arising from them have been reported to have been made available to patients in the NHS. These include:- The King’s Health Partners Heart Failure Service, which brings together clinical, research and educational expertise to deliver world class heart care in south London, helping people with heart failure live longer and with better quality of life;- University College London Partners AHSC adoption of a Learning Health System to standardise data entry and allowing the widespread trialling of novel tools to detect atrial fibrillation early;- The Manchester AHSC working with partners to align research around core health and social care priorities; and supporting the roll out of a single blood test driven decision-aid for patients presenting with chest pain at local emergency departments; and- The roll out of the innovative Sleepio app by the Oxford AHSN to support those suffering from insomnia across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

Human Embryo Experiments: Regulation

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 9 October 2013 (HL2237), what assessment the Scientificand Clinical Advances Advisory Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made of the regulation of embryoid bodiesfollowing the publication of research (1) by Lancaster et al. Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephalyin 2013,and (2) in the Nature Cell Biology journal A 3D model of a human epiblast reveals BMP4-driven symmetry breaking on 1 July.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made no formal assessment of the regulation of embryoid bodies following the publication of research by Lancaster et al. Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly in 2013, and in the Nature Cell Biology journal A 3D model of a human epiblast reveals BMP4-driven symmetry breaking on 1 July. The publications will be brought to the attention of the Committee.

Care Homes: Dental Services

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Care Quality CommissionSmiling matters: oral health care in care homes, published on 24 June; and how they intend to respond.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to ensure that access to dental provision in care homes is improved.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actiontheytake to deal with dentists who are unwilling to visit care homes.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that care home services are made aware of NICE guideline NG48Oral health for adults in care homes, published in July 2016.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Government welcomes the report by the Care Quality Commission Smiling matters: oral health care in care homes. The Department together with Public Health England, NHS England and Health Education England is carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will respond in due course.This consideration includes the recommendations that NHS England work with partners in the health and care system to improve access both to high street and, where required domiciliary care for residents of care homes. As well as the recommendation that both local and national monitoring frameworks should include awareness and assessment of oral health including the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guideline NG48.NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dental services, including domiciliary care. Domiciliary care may be delivered by any dentist holding a contract to deliver general dental services or it may be specifically commissioned by NHS England locally as an additional service. Where such services have been specifically commissioned any concerns about delivery should be raised with NHS England. NHS England has a duty to provide services to meet local need, including domiciliary services.

Gambling: Rehabilitation

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the projected funding costs to the NHS of the new gambling-related harm clinics, announced on 23 June.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding GambleAware are projected to provideto the (1) NHS Northern Gambling Clinic inLeeds, and (2) the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: As part of its NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England has made a commitment to invest in clinics to help more people with serious gambling problems. NHS England published its Long Term Plan Implementation Framework on 5 July 2019. The projected funding for gambling clinics was not separately identified and will be provided at a later date.The first National Health Service gambling clinic for children will open this year as part of a new network of services for addicts being rolled out. Up to 15 new NHS clinics will be opened over the five years, starting with the NHS Northern Gambling Service in Leeds and two satellite sites in Manchester and Sunderland.GambleAware has indicated that it plans to provide over £1 million annually to the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Trust to fund the NHS Northern Gambling Clinic in Leeds, and £382,000 to the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London in 2019/20.

Health Services and Social Services: Data Protection

lord freyberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to permit anonymised data (1) controlled, or (2) generated, by publicly funded health and care organisations in the UK to be shared for commercial purposes with businesses headquartered in non-EEA countries after Brexit.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Access to patient information for commercial purposes is not permitted, unless the patient has given their consent. The Government's principles governing data-sharing agreements entered into by National Health Service organisations, originally published in draft in December 2018 and reaffirmed in the policy framework update document published earlier this month, make clear that NHS data may only be accessed by third parties where there is an explicit aim to improve the health, welfare and/or care of patients in the NHS or the operation of the NHS, and that a fair share of the benefits from any agreements flow back to the NHS. We do not anticipate this will change when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

Life Expectancy

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey havemade of why the UKhad one of the largest slowdowns in improvements in life expectancy between 2011 and 2016 out of the 19 countries analysed by the Office for National Statistics in August 2018.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Life expectancy is as high as it has ever been in this country, but the rate of increase in life expectancy has slowed down in recent years. To better understand the reasons for the slowdown, the Department commissioned Public Health England to publish A review of recent trends in mortality in England, which includes comparison to other parts of the United Kingdom, the European Union and United States of America. A copy of the review is attached.The overall slowdown in improvements is due to a range of factors operating simultaneously across a wide range of age groups, places, and causes of death. Issues include: - the slowdown in improvement in mortality from heart disease and stroke, which are the leading causes of death. This is partly influenced by the increasing prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and low physical activity;- the size and frequency of recent winter peaks in mortality, which were influenced by the intensity and dominant type of influenza circulating, flu vaccine uptake and effectiveness, and is sometimes exacerbated by cold weather, especially among the very elderly people living with conditions such as dementia. Housing and fuel poverty are key to cold weather vulnerability;- in younger adults, the cause of death that had the biggest impact was accidental poisoning, a large proportion of these deaths are due to drug misuse; and- small increases in mortality rates from chronic lower respiratory disease in males and females, and other causes in males (including cirrhosis and other liver diseases). The Government remains committed to giving people five extra years of healthy, independent life by 2035 and to ensuring that everyone gets the same great healthcare no matter where they live, backed by our Long Term Plan for the National Health Service.



A review of recent trends in mortality in England
(PDF Document, 2.93 MB)

Mortality Rates: Children

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the Office for National Statistics in its mid-year population estimates published in June, that there has been a 14per cent annual increase in the rate of mortality of boys aged five to nine.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Office for National Statistics data shows that for boys aged five to nine there were 137 deaths in England in the period mid-2017 to mid-2018. This is an increase of 19 deaths compared with the period mid-2016 to mid-2017, when there were 118 deaths. As the number of deaths fluctuate between individual years, a longer period must be looked at for evidence of trends. Public Health England’s review of recent trends in mortality in England, showed that there was an improvement in mortality rates for children aged five to nine between 2011 and 2016. There was also an improvement in early periods, 2001 to 2006, and 2006 to 2011.Improving child health outcomes is central to the NHS Long Term Plan and for prioritising services for children and young people. It provides a clear focus on improving the health of children and young people across mental health, learning disabilities, cancer and elsewhere.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children

lord ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretaries of State for Health and Social Care, Education, and Housing, Communities and Local Government have discussed, or plan to discuss the findings of the Children's Commissioner for England's report We need to talk: Access to speech and language therapy, published on 11 June.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Colleagues across different Departments meet frequently to discuss a range of topics relating to child wellbeing. The Government recognises that speech, language and communication skills are a primary indicator of child wellbeing and will continue to provide strategic leadership across education, health and social care to narrow inequalities.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Curfews

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners were eligible for Home Detention Curfew in each of the last five years.

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners were (1) granted, and (2) refused, Home Detention Curfew in each of the last five years.

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds each Home Detention Curfew application was refused in each of the last five years.

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners subject to Home Detention Curfews were released before their Home Detention Curfew Eligibility Date in each of the last five years.

lord keen of elie: The following table shows the number of prisoners who were eligible for HDC, and how many and what proportion were released in each of the last five years. Because of the way in which data is recorded, the figures relating to the number eligible are higher than the true picture, as they include all offenders serving sentences of the right length, even though some do not meet the other eligibility criteria (see footnote 1).  20142015(3)201620172018Number eligible for release on HDC (1,2)45,20343,66943,66044,69740,543Number released on HDC8,6148,3199,0419,31214,769Percentage released19%19%21%21%36%(1) This is the number of offenders serving sentences of between 12 weeks and just under 4 years and therefore potentially eligible for release on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in the relevant period. However, it includes offenders who are in fact statutorily ineligible for HDC, such as registered sex offenders or those with a previous recall for breach of curfew on HDC (prisoners not eligible for HDC for these reasons cannot be identified from the data that is held). Moreover, certain offenders are presumed unsuitable for HDC and will only be considered for release in exceptional circumstances.(2) An offender may be eligible for release on HDC in more than one year. This is because an offender may become eligible for release on HDC in one year and remain in the prison population to be eligible for release as a new year begins.(3) Figures for 2015 and earlier were produced using an older methodology than for the years 2016 to date.Data on the number of prisoners refused HDC is not collated centrally and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. A prisoner may be released on or after their HDC eligibility date but may not lawfully be released before the eligibility date; such a release would be counted as a “release in error”. HMPPS publish annual data on releases in error but this does not indicate whether the offender was released on HDC and this could not be established except at disproportionate cost. This data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018

Prison and Probation Service: Apprentices

lord german: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many apprenticeships Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service has made available to staff since 2017.

lord german: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to expand the number of staff apprenticeships offered by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service.

lord german: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service is on target to deliver its share of the 30,000 apprenticeships by 2020, as part of the Civil Service Apprenticeship Scheme.

lord german: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the completion rate for individuals undertaking a staff apprenticeship delivered by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service.

lord keen of elie: HMPPS has made 20 apprenticeships available to staff since 2017.There are plans to expand the number of apprenticeships offered to staff across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies, including Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.To date, HMPPS have not met their annual apprenticeship targets due to the need to delay the Prison Officer apprenticeship launch until annual recruitment levels make this operationally feasible. HMPPS forecast to meet their annual target from 2020-21 onwards.There are currently no apprenticeship completions within Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Completion data will be available as appropriate from providers.

Prisoners' Release: Curfews

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners were (1) granted, and (2) refused, Home Detention Curfew in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age, (b) disability, (c) race, (d) religion or belief, (e) sex, (f) sexual orientation, and (g) gender reassignment.

lord keen of elie: Release on HDC allows suitable, risk assessed, prisoners to work towards rehabilitation in the community, while remaining subject to strict monitoring and other conditions. Data on the number of prisoners released on HDC is published quarterly and annually. The data is broken down by gender and the following table shows releases in each of the last five years:  Individuals released on HDC 2014-18  20142015(1)201620172018Total Number released on HDC8,6148,6119,0429,32014,769Male7,4417,4227,8448,16613,182Female1,1731,1891,1981,1541,587 (1) Figures for 2015 and earlier were produced using an older methodology than for the years 2016 to date. Currently the data is not broken down by other protected characteristics but the next quarterly publication, due on 25 July, will include data on HDC releases by ethnicity. We are also exploring the scope to publish further breakdowns by other characteristics and this will depend upon the accessibility and reliability of the data, as well as the data protection implications if low numbers enabled individuals to be identified. Data on the number of prisoners refused HDC is not collated centrally and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Justice: Public Consultation

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many consultations the Ministry of Justice has carried out in each of the last five years; and to how many of those it published a formal response within 12 weeks of the consultation closing.

lord keen of elie: The Ministry of Justice has carried out 96 consultations and calls for evidence in the last five years, as follows: 2019 - 42018 - 202017 - 132016 - 202015 - 202014 (12 July onwards) - 19 We published a response on GOV.UK within 12 weeks of the consultation closing in 26 instances: 2019 - 0 (12 week mark not yet reached for 3 out of 4 consultations)2018 - 22017 - 22016 - 82015 - 32014 (12 July onwards) - 11 These figures include consultations and calls for evidence from the Ministry of Justice and our agencies, but do not include those initiated by independent bodies such as the Law Commission or the Sentencing Council. The figures include consultations run in partnership with other government departments. All Ministry of Justice consultations and calls for evidence are available on GOV.UK and the online consultation platform, Citizen Space.

Tommy Robinson

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in prison.

lord keen of elie: As per my answer to your previous question, HL8657, we do not comment on individual cases. The Ministry of Justice confirms that it takes the duty of care very seriously to ensure all prisoners are able to serve their sentences in a safe environment. Each prisoner is risk assessed upon reception into custody and extra measures are put into place to protect prisoners where there are concerns for their welfare.

Department for International Trade

Trade Promotion

lord grocott: To ask Her Majesty's Government which trade envoys are currently in post, broken down by (1) the countries or groups of countries to which they are assigned, and (2) the date of their appointment.

viscount younger of leckie: There are currently 26 appointed Trade Envoys and details are attached. 



Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys
(Word Document, 14.64 KB)

Trade Promotion

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Fairhead on23 January (HL12726) and Viscount Younger of Leckie on 4 July (HL16484), whether the Department for International Trade's Regional Trade Plans include recommendations for implementation which reflect the views of the private sector; whether equalconsideration is given to the recommendations of small and medium-sized enterprises in addition to those of large organisations; and why they do not currently intend to publish Regional Trade Plans in full.

viscount younger of leckie: To achieve a forward-looking Global Britain the Department for International Trade works with both UK and overseas businesses of all sizes to drive an increase in trade. Regional Trade Plans are strategic documents which drive the delivery of our Departmental objectives overseas and have been developed by teams who work regularly with businesses in their regions and in the UK. These views are reflected in regional priorities in the Plans. We intend to publish a summary of Regional Trade Plans, which will consolidate more detailed internal plans.

Ministry of Defence

World War II: Anniversaries

lord black of brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what events they are planning to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem in September.

earl howe: The Headquarters and The Association of The Parachute Regiment are closely engaged with our in-country staff in co-ordinating a series of events taking place in and around Arnhem over the period 20-22 September 2019. Both the Chief of the General Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff will be in attendance at the main Dutch event in Arnhem at the invitation of their respective opposite numbers within the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces. As part of the commemorations, both the Mercian Regiment and the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment will be providing substantial representation; given their antecedent Regiments’ involvement in the form of the South Staffordshire Regiment and the Border Regiment, respectively, as glider-borne troops who made up the 1st Air Landing Brigade.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Buscombe on 25 June (HL Deb, col 1004), what sources they used to inform their statements that the UK (1) delivers the fourth most generous level of welfare support in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), (2) spends more on family benefits than any other country in the G7, and (3) spends the second highest amount on family benefits as a share of GDP, in the OECD.

baroness buscombe: (1) This statement was due to official error. We are the fourth most generous country according to the UN 2019 World Happiness Report. The UK spends £220bn on welfare each year, providing vital financial support for the most vulnerable in society. (2) and (3) These two statements come from OECD 2015 data (https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?datasetcode=SOCX_AGG). 2015 data is used as it is the most recent full data set. Please note that OECD definitions do not always match UK definitions, but insure data is comparable across OECD countries.

Welfare State

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create a new "safety net" to prevent people from becoming destitute; and what consideration they have given to re-establishing a national assistance board to assist in this endeavour.

baroness buscombe: This Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net for those who need it. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on working age welfare benefits. We have a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans for those who need extra support, and Jobcentre managers work closely with external partners to help vulnerable claimants. Our local government finance settlement means that over this year and next, councils will get over £10 billion in direct grants from central government to continue to offer a range of vital services to their local communities. We have no plans to re-establish a national assistance board.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Roads: Litter

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they take when a local authority does not perform roadside litter collection responsibly; and whether any action has been taken against a local authority since January 2018.

lord gardiner of kimble: It is for local authorities to fulfil their duties to clear roadside litter. Section 91 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows for proceedings in the magistrates’ court to be brought against the body responsible for clearing litter.

Home Office

Migrant Workers: Veterinary Medicine

lord rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to accept the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendation to add veterinarians to the Shortage Occupation List; and if not, why not.

lord rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to add veterinarians to the Shortage Occupation List in sufficient time for them to be trained and ready to deploy in advance of a no-deal Brexit.

baroness williams of trafford: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to HL16474 on the 2nd July 2019.

Treasury

Insurance Companies: Investment

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote investment by the insurance industry into applied research, new technologies, and infrastructure; whether information about any such investments will be published on an annual basis; and if so, where.

lord young of cookham: The treatment of infrastructure investment by insurance undertakings for the purposes of prudential regulation is set by the Solvency II Directive. In March 2019, the EU adopted new Solvency II rules to help insurers to invest in equity and private debt and to provide long-term capital financing. This means that insurers will be able to hold less capital for such investments and will therefore find such investments more attractive. The Government does not collect information about such investments, but individual insurance firms often include such details in their annual reports. The government provides competitive R&D tax reliefs to support businesses to invest. Support for businesses through R&D tax reliefs rose to £3.7 billion in 2015-16, up by almost a quarter from the previous year. The government is also carrying out the Infrastructure Finance Review, to support private infrastructure investment and ensure that infrastructure projects, including those using new technologies, are able to access the finance they need. The review will conclude alongside the National Infrastructure Strategy in the Autumn. In 2018, the UK Government provided £20m of ‘pioneer funding’ through the Next Generation Services Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to explore how new technologies could transform the UK accountancy, insurance and legal services industries

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Television: Licensing

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the change to the TV licence concession for the over-75s from June 2020 on those with sight impairments; and whether such people will have that concession removed after 2020.

lord ashton of hyde: The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC. However, the Government has no intention to change the blind (severely sight impaired) licence fee concession, regardless of the age of the recipient. Guidance on the blind (severely sight imparied) licence fee concession can be found on the TV Licensing website: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/blindseverely-sight-impaired-aud5

Television: Licensing

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that people over the age of 75 who cannot afford to pay for a TV licence from June 2020 will be able (1) to access content, and (2) to be kept informed of current affairs, to support their continued democratic engagement.

lord ashton of hyde: The government recognises the importance of television to people of all ages, particularly for older people who value television as a source of entertainment, companionship and a way to stay connected with the world. We are very disappointed with the BBC’s decision that only people who are aged 75 and above and in receipt of pension credit will continue to receive a free television licence from June 2020. The Secretary of State has met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision. A TV licence is only required to watch or record live television programmes, or to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer. Therefore, those without a TV licence will still be able to access other BBC content via the BBC radio stations (including BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer Radio), and the BBC, BBC News and BBC Sport websites. Further television programming can also be reached via other On-Demand and subscription television services, and current affairs content is available through news websites, newspapers, social media channels and apps, enabling continued democratic engagement. Online parliamentary petitions can be found here: https://petition.parliament.uk/. More information about when a TV Licence is required can be found on the TV Licensing website here: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one